Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Mr Palmer and Mr Wimble.

Mr Burwash, Deputy Cabinet Member for Communities and Regulatory Services was in attendance to provide an update on the portfolio on behalf of Mr Palmer. Mr Henderson provided up an update on behalf of Mr Wimble, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Special projects.

No declarations of interest were received.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting on 26^th March 2026 were a correct record and that they be signed by the Chair.

1.    Mrs Beverley Fordham (Cabinet Member for Education and Skills) provided an update on the following:

(a)  An update was provided on KCC’s internal work to develop the draft Kent SEND Reform Plan for the Department for Education. She noted a fuller update would be presented to the CYPE Committee. It was explained that the plan was a Kent-wide, sector-led document, developed collaboratively with partners to meet the SEND Reform White Paper requirements. Contributors included education and children’s services, Kent Association of Leaders in Education (KALE),  Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT), Kent Parents and Carers Together (PACT,) NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), health providers, Early Years settings, schools, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) and post-16 providers. Mrs Fordham highlighted that KCC’s role would increasingly be to convene the system over the next decade, while continuing its statutory duties. She acknowledged the leadership of Craig Chapman (Interim Deputy Director for Education: Access and Inclusion), supported by David Adams (Interim Deputy Director - Effectiveness, Sufficiency and Skills), and gave particular thanks to Sophie Dan (Assistant Director SEN Strategy and Quality Assurance) for coordinating the plan and bringing together evidence, data and partners despite sector-wide challenges.

The Kent SEND Reform Plan had been developed and submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) on 19 June, following the close of the public consultation on 18 June. No feedback had yet been received from the DfE.

It was noted that the DfE would review submissions from all local authorities and determine any required amendments, with an outcome anticipated in September. The approval of the plan was highlighted as critical, as it was linked to addressing 90% of the high needs deficit and to future funding arrangements. This presented significant financial, operational and reputational, risks. It was confirmed that a more detailed update would be provided at the CYPE Committee and subsequently at Scrutiny following the DfE’s response. Members were advised that further information could be discussed outside the meeting if required

(b)  Mrs Fordham attended a workshop in Gravesend, delivered by The Ground in partnership with Gravesend Grammar School for Boys. The session brought together pupils from local schools to share their views on issues including mobile phone use, health and wellbeing, and the curriculum. It was highlighted that young people’s perspectives closely aligned with those of employers. Key themes included the need for stronger focus on life skills such as financial literacy, budgeting, workplace experience, enhanced careers guidance, greater employer engagement, and increased vocational and practical learning opportunities. Participants also expressed a desire for earlier access to these experiences, rather than waiting until post-16 pathways. The workshop demonstrated the insight, ambition and engagement of young people, and reinforced the importance of ensuring future policy development reflects these priorities to improve outcomes.

1.1Further to questions and comments from Members the discussion included the following:

(a)  The Leader noted that the workshop initiative was an excellent model for promoting pupil voice and skills development, and a meeting was welcomed to explore how this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 141.

Cath Head (Head of Finance Operations) and Joe McKay ( Acting Chief Accountant) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr Collins, Deputy Leader of the Council, introduced the report on the Council’s 2025–26 financial outturn position. It was reported that the revenue budget had overspent by £22.7 million (1.5% of the total budget), representing an improvement of £13.8 million from the Quarter 3 forecast. The outturn included £1.1 million of roll forwards, including £0.3 million of unspent Member Grants.

The year was described as financially challenging. Underspends had been achieved within Growth, Environment and Transport, the Chief Executive’s Department, the Deputy Chief Executive’s Department and Non-Attributable Costs. Adult Social Care and Health had overspent by £42.9 million due to continued demand pressures, complexity and undelivered savings, while Children, Young People and Education had recorded an overspend of £0.9 million.

Capital expenditure for the year totalled £260.8 million, representing 69% of the approved budget. The underspend included £135.5 million rephased into future years. The report also included a review of the capital programme and proposed amendments to capital cash limits. The position on Schools’ Delegated Budgets continued to reflect pressures arising from Special Educational Needs demand and would be managed through the Dedicated Schools Grant Adjustment Account.

2.    Cath Head (Head of Finance Operations) noted that this was the fourth consecutive year in which the Council had recorded an overspend, and each overspend required drawdown form the reserves,  therefore impacting the Council’s future Medium Term Financial Plan. The importance of managing and mitigating any forecast overspends during 2026–27 was emphasised in order to support the development of the 2027–28 budget and maintain the Council’s financial resilience. Mr Collins noted that the forecasts inherited for 2025–26 had been developed under the previous administration. He emphasised that the administration was now working closely with officers on financial forecasting and delivery, and stressed the importance of each directorate achieving its agreed savings targets to support the Council’s financial position and resilience.

3.    Mr Watts (Deputy Chief Executive) noted that, between Quarter 3 and the end of the financial year, considerable work had been undertaken across the Council, supported by spending controls, to improve the financial position. While a number of directorates had delivered underspends and the Adult Social Care position had improved from that reported at Quarter 3, he emphasised that the effort had been shared across the whole organisation. It was further noted that these measures had not been without consequence. Capacity pressures within the organisation remained significant, as highlighted in the Annual Governance Statement, particularly given the range of initiatives, statutory duties and expectations placed on the Council alongside ongoing financial challenges. Nevertheless, he recognised the substantial work undertaken across the authority to improve the outturn position, while noting that any overspend continued to present challenges for future years' financial planning and resilience.

4.    Further to questions and comments from Members the discussion included the following:

(a)  The Leader highlighted the reported £9 million underspend on Home to School Transport as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142.

Matt Wagner (Chief Analyst) was in attendance for this item

1.    Mr Wagner outlined the report for Quarter 4 (Q4, 2025/26) which covered the period up until the end of March 2026. Of the 39 KPIs reported, 18 were rated Green (the same as the previous quarter) 12 were rated Amber (three fewer than the previous quarter) and 9 were rated Red (three more than the previous quarter). With regards to Direction of Travel, 7 indicators showed a positive trend, 28 were stable or with no clear trend, and 4 showed a negative trend. Mr Wagner addressed the KPIs that were rated RED, the reasoning and the mitigating actions for these were set out in the report.

2.    Further to questions and comments from Members the discussion included the following:

(a)  A question was raised regarding the Customer Services Performance Report, specifically the KPI rated as red, and whether it was appropriate for complaints with formally agreed extensions to continue to be recorded as late. It was suggested that this did not fully reflect performance, particularly where an initial response had been provided within the 20-day target and an extension had subsequently been agreed with the customer. Clarification was sought on whether information could be provided on the number of such cases. In response, it was explained that the KPI was designed to provide a consistent measure of response times across services and therefore recorded all responses completed beyond the target timescale as late, regardless of whether an extension had been agreed. However, it was acknowledged that, particularly in Adult Social Care, some complaints were more complex and required additional time to investigate. It was further noted that agreeing an extension in advance generally provided a better customer experience than failing to communicate delays. Mr Watts (Deputy Chief Executive) confirmed that he would work with Mr Wagner to review the information available and provide a further response to the Cabinet Member. He noted that some of the data requested was not currently collected or reported in that format, but that recent discussions at the Governance and Audit Committee had considered how performance information was captured and presented.

(b)  Clarification was sought on the significant increase in Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and whether this reflected increased scrutiny of the new administration, together with the implications for performance indicators. Mr Watts advised that FOI request volumes had increased significantly beyond the levels originally anticipated for the year. It was noted that, despite this increased demand, performance had improved considerably, with response rates increasing from 70% to 86% - 89%, which represented some of the strongest results achieved in recent years. Substantial work had been undertaken across the organisation to improve the handling of requests, although the volume of enquiries continued to create considerable pressure, as each request required officer time and resources to process. It was noted that, where multiple requests related to similar subjects, efficiencies could sometimes be achieved through quicker responses.

(c)  In response to whether the demand for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143.